Thousands of Afghans moved to UK under secret scheme

BBC:

Thousands of Afghans have been moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, it can be revealed.

In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked.

The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 and created a new resettlement scheme nine months later. It has seen 4,500 Afghans arrive in the UK, with a further 600 people and their immediate families still to arrive.

The existence of the leak and relocation scheme were kept secret for more than three years after the government obtained a superinjunction.

Details of the major data breach, the response and the number of Afghans granted the right to live in the UK as a result were only made public on Tuesday after a High Court judge ruled the gagging order should be lifted.

The leak contained the names, contact details and some family information of people potentially at risk of harm from the Taliban.

The government also revealed on Tuesday:

• The secret scheme – officially called the Afghan Relocation Route – has cost £400m so far, and is expected to cost a further £400m to £450m
• The scheme is being closed down, but relocation offers already made will be honoured
• The breach was committed mistakenly by an unnamed official at the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
• People whose details were leaked were only informed on Tuesday

Speaking in the House of Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” to those whose details had been included in the leak, which came to light when some appeared on Facebook.

He said it was as a result of a spreadsheet being emailed “outside of authorised government systems”, which he described as a “serious departmental error” – though the Metropolitan Police decided a police investigation was not necessary.

Healey said the leak was “one of many data losses” related to the Afghanistan evacuation during that period, and contained the names of senior military officials, government officials, and MPs.

The MoD has declined to say how many people may have been arrested or killed as a result of the data breach, but Healey told MPs an independent review had found it was “highly unlikely” an individual would have been targeted solely because of it.

He said that review had also judged the secret scheme to be an “extremely significant intervention” given the “potentially limited” risk posed by the leak.

In a High Court judgement issued on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said it was “quite possible” that some of those who saw the Facebook post containing the leaked personal data “were Taliban infiltrators or spoke about it to Taliban-aligned individuals”.

An email has been sent to those impacted by the breach, urging them to “exercise caution”, and take steps like protecting their online activities and not responding to messages from unknown contacts.

Healey said those who have been relocated to the UK have already been counted in immigration figures.